CORNER BROOK Any of his family and friends who tuned in to see Shane Ereautâs big moment on national television earlier this week may have been left wanting more.

But the Corner Brook native is OK with his lack of air time.

Ereaut, who is in the Canadian Armed Forces and now lives in Ottawa, was one of the Top 50 home cooks on MasterChef, an amateur cooking competition series airing on CTV.

Ereaut never advanced past the first show, which was broadcast this past Monday. Anyone who tuned in to see how he fared would have only saw a glimpse of his arms preparing his dish at one point and a shot of him clapping in the background during another segment.

Being dressed in his dark green military fatigues made him easy to pick out in the clips where he was visible.

He said he was one of six among the 50 cooks who never got much more exposure than that during the episode.

âI was a little disappointed,â Ereaut said in a phone interview after the show aired. âI myself could care less about the air time, really, but I know I had a lot of people rooting for me and they felt bad because they know I spent quite a bit of time doing my best to be on the show.â

Ereaut said he has absolutely no regrets about the experience, even if it meant burning up some of his annual leave time from work to travel to Toronto for the auditions and the taping of the show.

âThe experience was untouchable,â he said.

Besides the honour of making it through the auditions that determined the Top 50 and the thrill of seeing how a television production works, Ereaut said he learned some great culinary tips from the other chefs who participated.

He learned how to perfect the mushroom and goat cheese omelette he has been making since he was a kid and made for the showâs panel of judges.

He also found some new recipes to try.

âI was mostly interested in learning about using some side ingredients,â he said. âI spent a lot of time with people who were into southern cooking and learned how to make a roasted red pepper sauce with steak that Iâve tried since the show.â